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Crypto Promoter Charged With Scamming Investors Out of Millions | Chief Investment Officer – Chief Investment Officer

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged a California-based cryptocurrency promoter with conducting two unregistered and fraudulent securities offerings that promised astronomical rates of return through purported trading and advertising arbitrage.

According to the SECs complaint, Ryan Ginster, 34, raised $3.6 million in Bitcoin from the offerings through online platforms MyMicroProfits.com and Social Profimatic and allegedly lied to investors in both offerings about how their funds would be used.

The SEC further accused Ginsterwho also went by the alias Ryan Oakleyof misappropriating at least $1 million of the funds he raised to pay for personal expenses, such as tax payments, mortgage payments, a luxury vehicle, and almost $200,000 in various credit card bills.

Ginster allegedly engaged in a fraudulent scheme raising millions in cryptocurrency using online investment programs and then converted the cryptocurrency for his own benefit, Michele Wein Layne, regional director of the SECs Los Angeles regional office, said in a statement. Individuals who hide behind the anonymity of cryptocurrency transactions to defraud investors should expect that the SEC will trace their illegal activity and hold them accountable for their actions.

In the Social Profimatic offering, Ginster allegedly raised approximately $840,000 in Bitcoin by promising on both the platforms website and in YouTube videos returns of 8% a day, which, according to the SEC, corresponds to an annual rate of return of nearly 1,600,000,000,000%.

The complaint said the Social Profimatic website claimed that investors choose how much you wish to deposit with us & well pay you 8% every day. Our system will divide your revenue share payments up by the hour so you receive INSTANT and AUTOMATIC payments each hour. After you have your deposit made, we start creating & fulfilling social media marketing orders behind the scenes day & night on your behalf!

However, the SEC alleges that once investors funds were received, Ginster transferred the money to at least five digital asset wallets under his control and converted it to fiat currency to pay his personal expenses. The regulator said there was no indication Ginster ever attempted to generate returns through social media marketing orders as promised.

Under the MyMicroProfits.com offering, Ginster raised nearly $2.8 million in Bitcoin on promised returns of 0.13% per hour, or 3.12% per day. By the SECs calculations, that would mean a $10 investment be worth almost $45,000 after just nine months. Ginster claimed he would do this by investing in micro profit opportunities such as transaction processing fees, cloud hosting, cryptocurrency trading, and advertising arbitrage. As with the previous offering, the SEC said there was no evidence Ginster ever attempted to generate returns through transaction processing fees, cloud hosting, cryptocurrency trading, and advertising arbitrage.

The complaint also alleges that despite promises by both platforms that investors returns could be easily withdrawn, investors were not able to withdraw their funds.

The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against Ginster.

Related Stories:

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Crypto Mom Pushes Back Against SEC Over Poloniex Fine

Tags: bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Fraud, MyMicroProfits.com, Ryan Ginster, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, Social Profimatic, unregistered offering

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Top trends in tech transformation – Lexology

In a recent interview with the New Zealand Herald, Datacoms CEO, Greg Davidson, identified a significant lift in the volume of technology projects in the past year, with many organisations wary of their level of tech debt. Its the biggest upswing in demand for advice about moving to modern platforms that I can remember, he said.

We have also noticed this acceleration to the cloud and a clear increase in the volume of technology contracts being negotiated. This post explores some of the key trends were seeing during this tech transaction boom.

1)Implementation Proclamation

Modern software deals generally involve less bespoke development and on premise hosting than in traditional enterprise software. SaaS (software-as-a-service)providers tend to emphasise configuration (i.e. tweaking their pre-existing solution within defined parameters) over customisation (bespoke development to address specific customer requirements). This means the parties can sometimes overlook the importance of the implementation phase of these projects: were just rolling out a standardised product, how hard can it be? However, implementing software at an enterprise level almost always involves some level of complexity, whether due to integration with the customers technology stack, transfer of existing data to a new platform, the organisational process changes required, or a host of other reasons.

Contracting parties need to consider these potential risks and ensure that the agreement deals clearly and comprehensively with the implementation phase. This is particularly important in non-refundable licence deals, which kick in from day one without an ability to pull out if the implementation fails. To de-risk this element of the transaction, many deals include a separate design or discovery phase, giving the provider a chance to scope whats required in detail and report to the client on its intended approach before the implementation begins.

2)A Bit Too Agile?

The benefits of agile methodology for technology projects are now widely acknowledged. Although initially designed for internal software development projects, agile is now regularly deployed in tech implementations where both provider and customer teams are involved. While there are some clear benefits to this in terms of the ability to iterate, check in regularly and drive more cohesion between teams, there are also some challenges from a contractual perspective. Agile projects generally take a more open-ended approach, prioritising flexibility over certainty in terms of specifications, timeframes and deliverables. The result is that implementation projects using an agile methodology are often light on detail in these areas, even though the end product and existing software solution is largely known at the outset. The parties to these contracts need to ask themselves whether the agile contract provides an adequate roadmap for delivery of the solution.

We have found that a hybrid approach is often a valid answer preserving core agile project management processes while being more specific around what will be delivered, at what cost, and in what timeframe.

3)Once More Unto the Breach

Data breaches are fast becoming the number one risk for organisations across the globe, so the need to deal properly with this risk is fast becoming the major priority in technology contracts. There are many complexities to address: How is a data breach defined? Where is the demarcation of responsibility for data (at rest and in transit) between the customer and provider? What is the role of third party hosting providers and who takes responsibility if they cause a breach? Who has the role of controller and processor for data protection law purposes and how will this affect the allocation of responsibilities between the parties? Liability after the fact is one thing, but just as important is defining how the parties will co-operate in the heat of the moment to discover, notify, mitigate and resolve an incident.

4)Data Without Borders

The dominance of SaaS platforms and cloud-based infrastructure in todays technology stacks has led to a big increase in cross-border data flows. This is coupled with a number of significant recent developments in the law governing international data transfers, both here and overseas. Further afield, the Schrems II decision last year invalidated the Privacy Shield mechanism previously used as the legal basis for sending data between Europe and the US. More recently, the European Commission has released a new set of Standard Contractual Clauses that must be used in most circumstances where theres a transfer of data from the EU to any outside country not deemed adequate by the Europeans (i.e. most of them). In New Zealand (which helpfully does have adequacy for now), the Privacy Act 2020 recently imposed a new regime (including optional model contract clauses) for disclosure of personal data outside New Zealand although transfers to cloud hosting providers and others processing data purely on someone elses behalf are not caught. All this means a thorough assessment of the data flows involved, and the legal obligations that apply, is a key component of most tech deals.

5)Indemnities on the Increase

Traditionally, a customer in a software licence could be comfortable it had relatively few contractual obligations to worry about: pay the fees, stay within the licence scope and dont breach confidentiality or IP. However, many technology providers are now providing one to many solutions to a large volume of customers with a range of diverse needs. This, along with the ever-increasing complexity of data use/flows and the global regulatory environment, means providers often have legitimate reasons for looking more closely at the balance of risk. With this in mind, technology providers are increasingly asking customers to provide wide indemnities in relation to the customers particular use of their products often to address data protection concerns, but in many cases wider regulatory and third party risk. These indemnities are often broadly drafted, sometimes making the customer liable for almost everything bar the providers negligence. Whatever the reasonableness of specific clauses, its important for both parties to step back and think about the specific risk profile of each deal. Standard templates are seldom sufficient to cover all bases in todays market.

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Verint Announces Strong Third Quarter Results, Raises Guidance and Three-Year Targets – marketscreener.com

Delivers Strong Q3 Cloud Revenue Growth; Expects Strong Q4 and Raises Annual Cloud Revenue Growth Guidance

Introduces FYE 2023 Guidance Above Prior Targets and Raises FYE 2024 Targets

Verint (Nasdaq: VRNT), The Customer Engagement Company, today announced results for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2021 (FYE 2022). Revenue for the three months ended October 31, 2021 was $225 million on a GAAP basis representing 4% year-over-year growth and $227 million on a non-GAAP basis also representing 4% year-over-year growth. Revenue for the nine months ended October 31, 2021 was $640 million on a GAAP basis representing 6% year-over-year growth and $645 million on a non-GAAP basis representing 5% year-over-year growth. For the three months ended October 31, 2021, diluted EPS was $0.12 on a GAAP basis and, $0.69 on a non-GAAP basis. For the nine months ended October 31, 2021, diluted EPS was $0.08 on a GAAP basis and $1.71 on a non-GAAP basis.

The momentum we experienced in the first half of the year continued in the third quarter with strong cloud revenue growth, strong new PLE bookings growth, and strong revenue and diluted EPS coming in significantly ahead of expectations. We expect to finish the year with a strong Q4 and are raising our annual outlook for total revenue, cloud revenue, and new PLE bookings. We believe our results and improved outlook reflect the differentiation of our cloud platform and our execution following the spin-off of our security business in February 2021, said Dan Bodner, Verint CEO.

Bodner continued, At the time of the spin-off, we laid out three-year targets for accelerating growth. I am pleased to report that based on our strong PLE bookings this year across existing and new customers, we now believe we are tracking ahead of these targets. We are introducing guidance for next year of 7% revenue growth, above our prior targets. We are also increasing our targets for FYE 2024 to 10% revenue growth taking our total revenue to $1.03 billion with about $650 million in cloud revenue.

Third Quarter Key Cloud Metrics

FYE 2022 and FYE 2023 Outlook

We are increasing our non-GAAP annual outlook for the year ending January 31, 2022, as follows:

We are introducing our non-GAAP annual outlook for the year ending January 31, 2023, above our prior targets, as follows:

Our non-GAAP outlook for the year ending January 31, 2022 excludes the following GAAP measures which we are able to quantify with reasonable certainty:

Our non-GAAP outlook for the year ending January 31, 2022 excludes the following GAAP measures for which we are able to provide a range of probable significance:

Our initial non-GAAP outlook for the year ending January 31, 2023 excludes the following GAAP measures which we are able to quantify with reasonable certainty:

Our initial non-GAAP outlook for the year ending January 31, 2023 excludes the following GAAP measures for which we are able to provide a range of probable significance:

Our non-GAAP FYE 2024 targets exclude any GAAP revenue adjustments.

Our non-GAAP guidance and targets do not include the potential impact of any in-process business acquisitions that may close after the date hereof, and, unless otherwise specified, reflects foreign currency exchange rates approximately consistent with current rates.

We are unable, without unreasonable efforts, to provide a reconciliation for other GAAP measures which are excluded from our non-GAAP outlook and targets, including the impact of future business acquisitions or acquisition expenses, future restructuring expenses, and non-GAAP income tax adjustments due to the level of unpredictability and uncertainty associated with these items. For these same reasons, we are unable to assess the probable significance of these excluded items. While historical results may not be indicative of future results, actual amounts for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2021 and 2020 for the GAAP measures excluded from our non-GAAP outlook appear in Tables 2, 3 and 4 of this press release.

Conference Call Information

We will conduct a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss our results for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2021, outlook, and long-term targets. An online, real-time webcast of the conference call and webcast slides will be available on our website at http://www.verint.com. The webcast slides will be available on our website until at least January 31, 2022. The conference call can also be accessed live via telephone at 1-844-309-0615 (United States and Canada) and 1-661-378-9462 (international) and the passcode is 7551616. Please dial in 5-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release and the accompanying tables include non-GAAP financial measures. For a description of these non-GAAP financial measures, including the reasons management uses each measure, and reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures presented for completed periods to the most directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, please see the tables below as well as "Supplemental Information About Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Operating Metrics" at the end of this press release.

About Verint Systems Inc.

Verint (Nasdaq: VRNT) helps the worlds most iconic brands including over 85 of the Fortune 100 companies build enduring customer relationships by connecting work, data, and experiences across the enterprise. The Verint Customer Engagement portfolio draws on the latest advancements in AI and analytics, an open cloud architecture, and The Science of Customer Engagement to help customers close The Engagement Capacity Gap.

Verint. The Customer Engagement Company. Learn more at Verint.com.

Cautions About Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expectations, predictions, views, opportunities, plans, strategies, beliefs, and statements of similar effect relating to Verint Systems Inc. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and they are based on management's expectations that involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results or conditions to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause our actual results or conditions to differ materially from current expectations include, among others: uncertainties regarding the impact of changes in macroeconomic and/or global conditions, including as a result of slowdowns, recessions, economic instability, political unrest, armed conflicts, natural disasters, or outbreaks of disease, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the resulting impact on information technology spending by enterprises and government customers, on our business; risks that our customers delay, cancel, or refrain from placing orders, refrain from renewing subscriptions or service contracts, or are unable to honor contractual commitments or payment obligations due to liquidity issues or other challenges in their budgets and business, due to the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise; risks that restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic or actions taken in response to the pandemic adversely impact our operations or our ability to fulfill orders, complete implementations, or recognize revenue; challenges associated with our cloud transition, including increased importance of subscription renewal rates, and risk of increased variability in our period-to-period results based on the mix, terms, and timing of our transactions; risks associated with our ability to keep pace with technological advances and challenges and evolving industry standards; to adapt to changing market potential from area to area within our markets; and to successfully develop, launch, and drive demand for new, innovative, high-quality products that meet or exceed customer challenges and needs in both existing and new areas, while simultaneously preserving our legacy businesses and migrating away from areas of commoditization; risks due to aggressive competition in all of our markets, including with respect to maintaining revenue, margins, and sufficient levels of investment in our business and operations, and competitors with greater resources than we have; risks relating to our ability to properly manage investments in our business and operations, execute on growth or strategic initiatives, and enhance our existing operations and infrastructure, including the proper prioritization and allocation of limited financial and other resources; risks associated with our ability to identify suitable targets for acquisition or investment or successfully compete for, consummate, and implement mergers and acquisitions, including risks associated with valuations, reputational considerations, capital constraints, costs and expenses, maintaining profitability levels, expansion into new areas, management distraction, post-acquisition integration activities, and potential asset impairments; challenges associated with selling sophisticated solutions, including with respect to longer sales cycles, more complex sales processes, and assisting customers in understanding and realizing the benefits of our solutions, as well as with developing, offering, implementing, and maintaining a broad solution portfolio; risks that we may be unable to maintain, expand, and enable our relationships with partners as part of our growth strategy; risks associated with our reliance on third-party suppliers, partners, or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for certain components, products, or services, including companies that may compete with us or work with our competitors, as well as cloud hosting providers; risks associated with our ability to retain, recruit, and train qualified personnel in regions in which we operate, including in new markets and growth areas we may enter or due to applicable regulatory requirements such as vaccination mandates; risks associated with our significant international operations, exposure to regions subject to political or economic instability, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, and challenges associated with a significant portion of our cash being held overseas; risks associated with a significant part of our business coming from government contracts and associated procurement processes; risks associated with complex and changing domestic and foreign regulatory environments, relating to our own operations, the products and services we offer, and/or the use of our solutions by our customers, including, among others, with respect to data privacy and protection, government contracts, anti-corruption, trade compliance, tax, and labor matters; risks associated with the mishandling or perceived mishandling of sensitive or confidential information and data, including personally identifiable information or other information that may belong to our customers or other third parties, including in connection with our SaaS or other hosted or managed service offerings or when we are asked to perform service or support; risks that our solutions or services, or those of third-party suppliers, partners, or OEMs which we use in or with our offerings or otherwise rely on, including third-party hosting platforms, may contain defects, develop operational problems, or be vulnerable to cyber-attacks; risk of security vulnerabilities or lapses, including cyber-attacks, information technology system breaches, failures, or disruptions; risks that our intellectual property rights may not be adequate to protect our business or assets or that others may make claims on our intellectual property, claim infringement on their intellectual property rights, or claim a violation of their license rights, including relative to free or open source components we may use; risks associated with leverage resulting from our current debt position or our ability to incur additional debt, including with respect to liquidity considerations, covenant limitations and compliance, fluctuations in interest rates, dilution considerations (with respect to our convertible notes), and our ability to maintain our credit ratings; risks that we may experience liquidity or working capital issues and related risks that financing sources may be unavailable to us on reasonable terms or at all; risks arising as a result of contingent or other obligations or liabilities assumed in our acquisition of our former parent company, Comverse Technology, Inc. (CTI), or associated with formerly being consolidated with, and part of a consolidated tax group with, CTI, or as a result of the successor to CTI's business operations, Mavenir, Inc., being unwilling or unable to provide us with certain indemnities to which we are entitled; risks associated with changing accounting principles or standards, tax laws and regulations, tax rates, and the continuing availability of expected tax benefits; risks relating to the adequacy of our existing infrastructure, systems, processes, policies, procedures, internal controls, and personnel, and our ability to successfully implement and maintain enhancements to the foregoing, for our current and future operations and reporting needs, including related risks of financial statement omissions, misstatements, restatements, or filing delays; risks associated with market volatility in the prices of our common stock and convertible notes based on our performance, third-party publications or speculation, or other factors and risks associated with actions of activist stockholders; risks associated with Apax Partners' significant ownership position and potential that its interests will not be aligned with those of our common stockholders; and risks associated with the recent spin-off of our Cyber Intelligence Solutions business, including the possibility that it does not achieve the benefits anticipated, does not qualify as a tax-free transaction, or exposes us to unexpected claims or liabilities. We assume no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, except as otherwise required by law. For a detailed discussion of these risk factors, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2021, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2021, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2021, when filed, and other filings we make with the SEC.

VERINT, THE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT COMPANY, BOUNDLESS CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT, THE ENGAGEMENT CAPACITY GAP and THE SCIENCE OF CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT are trademarks of Verint Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries. Verint and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein.

Table 1

VERINT SYSTEMS INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended October 31,

Nine Months Ended October 31,

(in thousands, except per share data)

2021

2020

2021

2020

Revenue:

Recurring

$

158,811

$

150,233

$

459,442

$

418,570

Nonrecurring

66,009

64,989

180,899

186,597

Total revenue

224,820

215,222

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Ann Coulter: This Thanksgiving, Joy-Ann Reid has much to be thankful for – Marshall News Messenger

Why such a sourpuss, Joy-Ann? On the whole, life and MSNBC are treating you pretty well. And yet, over the last 10 years, you have complained pretty much nonstop about how badly you, and people who look like [you], are treated in America.

I will take on faith, Joy-Ann, that your life up to age 16 spent in the racist hellscape that was 1980s Denver, Colorado was practically a maelstrom of cross burnings, Night Riders and segregated water fountains.

Lets focus on the recent past.

You were admitted to Harvard with SAT scores that would have gotten an Asian kid disowned by his parents.

You manage to keep your show at MSNBC with ratings that would get a white person canceled.

People try harder to laugh at your excruciating jokes than they would for a male of any race.

Plus, I have it on good authority that no one at MSNBC has pestered you about touching your hair.

Your brief daytime show on MSNBC made ratings history, garnering only 38,000 viewers in the demo its first day on air the lowest for the entire network! That inched up to 56,000 viewers two days later, the second lowest for the network. Ronan Farrows show debuted the same week. But while he was quickly cashiered for poor ratings you were promoted, even though he is white and you are Black. Dodged a bullet there!

You werent prosecuted for making a false FBI report when you claimed that right-wing saboteurs had hacked your blog, planting long, venomous threads about gay people. It seems your go-to attack for celebrities and Republicans is to accuse them of being gay. (For example, you described Dick Cheney topping off Sean Hannity and repeatedly ran your Top 5 totally not gay celebrities of the year.)

Nor were you fired for your preposterous, and quickly disproved, lies about having been hacked when it was you who mocked people for being gay including Oprah.

Your many, many blog posts sneering at gays were written just 10 years earlier, when you were an adult and a professional journalist. Meanwhile, teenagers even white ones! are being thrown out of college for the stupid things they said on Snapchat when they were 15. But you came through like a champ, without consequence despite being Black!

Indeed, instead of firing you, MSNBC gave you a prime-time show. This is the network that canned Chris Matthews (astonishingly, another white male) for telling girls theyre pretty. And who took the humiliated Matthews time slot? YOU DID! Despite the fact that he is white and you are Black.

Actually, if you think about it, in a deeply racist, majority-white country, youve done pretty well issuing nonstop libels against white people. Here are three recent quotes:

Joy-Ann: Ill say it again: People on the right would trade all the tax cuts for the ability to openly say the N-word like in the good old days.

That comment, like many made by you, seems at variance with the facts, and not based in reality. But has your delusional hatred of white Americans held you back? Not sos youd notice.

Joy-Ann: Currently, most K-12 students already learn a kind of Confederate Race Theory, whereby the Daughters of the Confederacy long ago imposed a version of history wherein slavery was not so bad and had nothing to do with the civil war, and lynchings and violence never happened.

Were you taught Confederate Race Theory at your high school, Joy-Ann? You know, the high school in Denver, Colorado, in the 1980s? My heart wants to believe you, but my head is telling me, This woman is a lunatic fantasist.

Ill tell you why I say that. Just 10 years after you matriculated at Denvers diverse Montbello High School, a Nation of Islam minister was invited to speak, whereupon he told the assembly (all boys, no girls allowed) that, while Blacks were building the Egyptian pyramids, white people ate their dead and slept with animals. Even you have to admit, THAT wasnt racist.

Joy-Ann: (I love boxing because) its a sport, even at the turn of the 20th century, where a Black man could beat up a white man in front of an entire crowd and not get lynched.

Wow. People who are actually descended from American slaves Joy-Ann is not one of them dont hate white Americans that much. Yet, strangely, white Americans, despite being white, havent held that against you.

Your immigrant parents came here in the late 1960s, settling in Iowa. Perhaps you rank Iowa up there with Denver as a bastion of Jim Crow, but even you would have to concede it was a step up from Guyana and the Congo.

While having zero American slave ancestry, you have managed to elbow aside actual descendants of American slaves (DOAS), gobbling up the benefits earned by their ancestors suffering, and intended for them. That was a good deal for you!

Finally, notwithstanding the White Power Structure, you have a job that reportedly pays $1.5 million a year, which is more than 99.9 percent of Americans make even several white ones! All in all, that doesnt sound so bad.

Ann Coulter is a syndicated columnist.

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Welcome to the Beach Cafe, the Upper East Sides Republican Cheers – New York Magazine

Photo-Illustration: Iintelligencer; Photos: Getty Images

This article was featured in One Great Story, New Yorks reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly.

Theres this unassuming pub on the corner of 70th and Second thats a dovecote for that rarest of birds: the right-winged Manhattanite. Its called the Beach Cafe. Cindy Adams comes here. Theres a burger on the menu named after Roger Stone ($16, egg on top). You pop in for an afternoon Guinness and theres Eric and Donald Trump Jr. having lunch with their aunt Elizabeth Trump. The New York Post columnist Miranda Devine its something of a Post hangout will throw a party here soon for Laptop From Hell, her new book about Hunter Biden.

This is like our Elaines, says Ann Coulter, sitting to my left one evening and sipping Sauvignon blanc. Or like Cheers for Rupert Murdochfriendly Establishment types. Its where everybody knows their name. (And nobody wants to defund the police.)

Its not that there arent Republicans in the city; we all know that. Its just that on most corners of this island, theyre outnumbered eight to one. But not at the Beach, as they call it. It doesnt try to be chic. Theres a lifeguard stand out front and a six-foot hammerhead shark above the bar. The banquettes are Kelly green. The food is whatever, though the burger is on par with the one at J.G. Melon. And unlike at J.G. Melon, you never have to wait outside.

The Beach opened in 1966, three years after Elaines and long before Tribeca got luxe, back when nobody who was anybody would live very far into Brooklyn. The Upper East Side was the happening place. Arthur Miller, George Plimpton, and Frank Sinatra used to come. As the city changed around it truth be told, maybe this corner of the city less than most the Beach Cafe became a mainstay. The neighborhood is conservative in the purest sense of the word: Its the opposite of cool. To move here which I did recently is to step back in time.

Stone, talking on the phone from Florida, calls it an oasis of red in a sea of blue. He used to live near the Beach Cafe and would go often during Trumps first campaign to dine with, among other people, Corey Lewandowski. That he regrets, however. I had not yet realized he was a congenital liar and a scumbag, says Stone. Hes watching news footage of Steve Bannon surrendering to federal authorities and muses about his old comrade: Somebody should rush him to a dermatologist and a haberdasher immediately. (A few days later, Stone would be subpoenaed by the same congressional committee, which is investigating the Capitol riot.)

A Nixon Republican and Roy Cohn disciple Nixon lived on Fifth Avenue, and Cohn on East 68th Stone says he loves New York but hasnt returned to the city since the FBI raided him in 2019. When he is here, he claims the Upper West Side is no longer safe for him. People who dont share my political point of view might verbally and sometimes physically attack me, he says.

Donald Trumps various manias didnt make things any easier for city Republicans, who traditionally have been more sensible pro-business types. The GOPs recent good showings have given some hope for a future beyond Trump. I predicted he would fade like Palin gone in three years. Now I think hes gone even faster, says Coulter. How did we win in Virginia? How did we almost win in New Jersey? By keeping him out of it. She is sharing her bottle of wine with Jon Levine, the Post gadfly who recently scooped that AOCs Tax the Rich dress designer is herself a rich tax cheat. He hangs out here so much that, on a wall in the center of the dining room, there is a massive framed photograph of him dining outside on Second Avenue in a blizzard. Coulter owes him a steak because she made a bet Glenn Youngkin wouldnt win in Virginia. Shes down a rib eye but ecstatic nonetheless.

Its liberals who cant let go of Trump, she insists. Fifty years from now, well all be dead, and theyll still be running against Trump. Unlike some people who come to this bar, she accepts the results of the 2020 election. Oh, the fraud, she laughs, using air quotes. Hes a big fat loser.

Coulter has not watched Impeachment: American Crime Story. I hear the actress does a great job sounding like me, but every single fact Ive heard about the show is totally, 100 percent false, she says. Exhibit A: Laura Ingraham didnt introduce me to Drudge; I knew him long before she did, she says. Idiots seem to think that Laura and I are like Blair and Serena, sharing clothes and gossiping, but we fill the same conservative girl niche, so wed rarely even be in the same room. She adds, They should have used Isikoffs book. Toobin knew nothing.

R.E.M. is playing on the stereo. Former chief judge of New York Jonathan Lippman stops by the table. The conversation turns to Rikers Island. I dont understand why they cant just knock it down and build a new one, Coulter says to the judge. For one thing, it sits atop a landfill, he tells her. I love landfills, she exclaims. Shoreline Stadium, where the Grateful Dead played thats on a landfill!

At the bar, theres a banker from JPMorgan Chase discussing how he voted for Curtis Sliwa. Coulter spots an old friend a few seats down, an ber-preppy she knows from the Hamptons. (Theres something very Hamptons about the Beach.) Coulters brother, a lawyer, frequents this place, too. He has dined here with former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson, whose parents lived around the corner. Representative Carolyn Maloney (shes a Democrat, but hardly a trendy one) comes here. As does Woody Allens second wife, Louise Lasser. John Gottis lawyer Bruce Cutler is a regular. So is Linda Fairstein, the controversial prosecutor best known for her involvement in the Central Park Five and Preppy Murder cases. She helped keep the place in business during the long years of the Second Avenue subway-line construction. You could be sitting in the Beach and there would be blasts underneath and dust all around outside, remembers Fairstein.

It was founded and owned for many years by the White family. For a while, it seemed the restaurant might one day pass into the hands of Bill White. He became a president of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and a major Democratic Party fundraiser who had David Boies officiate and Aretha Franklin perform at his same-sex wedding. Then White went full MAGA. The about-face scandalized liberal Manhattan and infuriated Clintonworld. He relocated to Atlanta and is now leading a carpetbagger campaign to try to get his wealthy white suburb to secede from the city. Today, the restaurant is owned by Dave Goodside, who began working there in 1984 and bought it in 2005. I dont think hes had a day off in five years, says White. Hes a warrior.

Stone says the main reason a scene coalesced at the Beach Cafe is due to Goodside: Dave is a saloonkeeper in the tradition of Toots Shor. Hes very discreet, he knows a lot, he sees a lot, he puts people together, separates people. Hes introduced me to some people, and hes warned me when other people are there and I shouldnt come in. Such as? Certain writers with low IQs like Molly Jong-Fast. My father said to never trust anybody with three names, says Stone. (Jong-Fast says, If Roger Stone is trying to avoid me, then I must be doing something right.)

Goodside says hes neither a Democrat nor a Republican. Im more interested in sports and music, he says. In 2017, he began hosting cabaret nights in the little dining room. Performers including K.T. Sullivan and Karen Akers would turn up. The critic Rex Reed would get on the mic, too.

Still, Goodside must realize most New York restaurateurs would not name a menu item after Stone. I got a chance to really spend a lot of quality time with Roger, and I like him, Goodside says, shrugging. What about Uday and Qusay Trump? People may watch TV and read the papers and think of them however, but they are the nicest people that come in here, he says.

What does Cindy Adams like about the place? Im fond of the owner, she says, who keeps sending me gifts of chili which I dont even want.

The one story you shouldnt miss today, selected byNew Yorks editors.

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Letter: The mainstream media are the real liars – INFORUM

It is the other major networks that lie, cover up or won't cover stories of the Democrats' misconduct and corruption. They lie about police shootings as well as the stories about Kyle Rittenhouse and Nick Sandmann, claiming Rittenhouse was guilty of murder and Sandmann was abusing an innocent Native American man.

They will lie about the police shooting a Black man that has committed a crime or is wanted for crimes. They falsely claim the victim is innocent, unarmed and a pillar of the community. They do this no mater what the evidence is.

They lie, cover up or won't cover the stories of the sexual abuse by former President Bill Clinton, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and President Joe Biden. The Democrat politicians are afraid to tell the truth to their addled brained voters because they will lose their votes.

They continue to do this in so many other stories like the false claims of collusion between former President Donald Trump and Russia. The corruption committed by Biden and his son Hunter along with Hillary Clinton. They have been after Trump even before he announced his candidacy. They all laughed and thought it preposterous when Ann Coulter said Trump would be the candidate. So much for those brilliant minds.

They took Christine Blasey Ford's word as gospel and judged Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh guilty no mater what the other testimony said. They incessantly say the exact same words as their counterparts say. They all jump onto the next story and twist and lie to keep their sheep in the fold.

Now I will give Tony Bender a back-handed compliment. It was good to see him use some common sense, no mater how hard it was for him. There wasn't any other conclusion but innocent in the Rittenhouse case.

I want you to visualize this scenario. A Black man was accused and found innocent of raping and killing a young girl. Riots erupted and stores and vehicles were looted and burned. The protesters were joined by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Two Black youths were asked to help defend a friend's business. While doing this they were confronted by the mob. They were verbally abused, threatened with their lives and attacked. They defended themselves and were chased by several law-violating thugs. They shot three of them in self defense.

Now Fox News would be wrong to claim them guilty of murdering or trying to murder the three individuals. But that is what several major networks and talk shows falsely claimed Rittenhouse was guilty of.

So which networks are the most untruthful? I could list many other stories where these networks and major newspapers like the New York Times falsely try to convince their viewers of individuals being guilty of committing rape or other serious crimes. Fox News makes mistakes but they are angels compared to the other lying hypocrite networks.

I would vote for Trump again, but he would have to watch his mouth and use a lot more tact in his statements. Maybe, though, he has to fight fire with fire.

Darlan Fatland is a resident of Walcott, N.D.

This letter does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.

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Metas Biggest Encrypted Messaging Mistake Was Its Promise – WIRED

Since the 1990s, governments around the world have often used the welfare of children as an excuse for all kinds of internet policy overreach: encryption backdoors, centralized censorship mechanisms, and anti-anonymity measures. So when Meta, facing pressure from the government as well as NGOs, announced its decision last week to delay the rollout of end-to-end encryption for messaging systems such as Instagram DMs and Messengerwith child safety as the cited reasonprivacy advocates were understandably upset and suspicious. But speaking as someone who previously worked on safety and security at Facebook, I dont view the delay as an arbitrary political decision. The concern over the safety of young users is genuine, and the problems are pervasive, especially when it comes to social systems as complex as those at Meta.

Frustrating as it may be, the companys delay is likely justified. Some form of end-to-end encryption should be available to all people, to preserve the right to private communication and prevent government incursions. But end-to-end encryption isn't just one issue or technologyits a broad set of policy decisions and use cases with high-stakes consequences. As such, creating the proper environment for its use is a complex task. The need for end-to-end encryption, as well as the conditions required to implement it safely, vary for each platform, and apps like Facebook and Instagram still require serious changes before it can be introduced without compromising functionality or introducing safety risks. Metas greatest misstep isnt this latest delay but rather the timeline, and perhaps even the outcome it promised.

When then-Facebook first announced its timeline to implement interoperable end-to-end encryption across all its properties in 2019, its immediate infeasibility was clear. The proposed timeline was so rapid that even producing the technology itself would be nigh impossible, with safety mechanisms barely entering the picture. Systems like WhatsApp already had end-to-end encryption and content-oblivious mechanisms for detecting some kinds of harm, and it was assumed this would readily translate to other Facebook properties.

However, apps and sites like Facebook and Instagram are wildly different in architecture and dynamics than WhatsApp. Both implement direct messaging alongside systems that attempt to actively connect you with people, derived from a combination of reading users' phone books, algorithmically determining similar accounts based on locations, interests, and friends, as well as general online activity. In the case of Facebook, large public or private groups also facilitate expansion of one's social graph, along with global search of all accounts and grouping by institutions such as schools. While apps like WhatsApp and Signal operate more like private direct messaging between known contacts, Facebook and Instagrams growth-oriented design leads to situations where abusers can more easily find new victims, identities and relationships are accidentally exposed, and large numbers of strangers are mixed together.

These fundamental differences mean that before Meta can safely switch all of its platforms to end-to-end encryption, its apps must undergo some nontrivial changes. First off, the company must improve its existing content-oblivious harm-reduction mechanisms. This involves using social graphs to detect users who are trying to rapidly expand their networks or to target people of certain demographics (for example, people of a particular declared or inferred age), and finding other potentially problematic patterns in metadata. These mechanisms can work hand in hand with user reporting options and proactive messaging, such that users are presented with safety messaging that informs them of their options for reporting abuse, along with efficient reporting flows to allow them to escalate to the operator of the platform. While these types of features are beneficial with or without end-to-end encryption, they become significantly more important when the ability to inspect content is removed.

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GBT is Enhancing qTerm’s Cybersecurity Technology to Provide a Higher Level of Data Protection For its Users – GlobeNewswire

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) ("GBT, or the Company) is enhancing its qTerm device cybersecurity technology in order to ensure robust privacy and sensitive data protection for its potential users. Due to the rise of sensitive data breach cases in the past few years, GBT decided to add another layer of data protection, developing breakthrough techniques to prevent potential data theft.The enhancements will be performed within the devices AI computer programs to increase data security for its machine learning and computing environments. GBT's qTerm, a human vitals intelligence device is targeted to measure human vitals with a touch of a finger, and includes AI technology for personal health monitoring. The device is accompanied by a smartphone app and a synchronized widget web application to keep a history and provide health related analytics.

GBT will be implementing Homomorphic Encryption (HE) techniques within its AI environment to enable encrypted data processing without decrypting it first. The qTerm algorithms send data back and forth over encrypted channels. The AI needs to perform computations and analysis and typically the system decrypts the information first, working on it, and re-encrypting it again before sharing it. This creates a potential security risk. HE technology enables robust data protection since the processing is always done with the encrypted data. HE techniques were known to have one major disadvantage, which is a very long processing time compared to decrypted data processing runtime. GBT developed new algorithms that operate with much higher performance enabling fast computations using HE methods. The company plans to implement HE technology within qTerms Machine Learning components, mobile and web interface computing environments.

Our AI engine includes multiple modules that shares digital assets over internal channels. The machine learning sub-systems may communicate sensitive information, for example, sharing users medical/personal information between the data storage module and the data training module. In order to secure data, there are two major operations that are done, encryption and decryption. The encryption typically happens where the sensitive data is first captured, for example after qTerm device recording a users vitals. The data is then sent to the AI system for processing on the main data center. At the data center the data needs to be decrypted to work on, and then re-encrypted after completion. The decrypting phase introduces potential data breach risk. Using the HF technique eliminates the need for decryption, and all operations can be performed on the encrypted data which eliminates the major security risk. We plan to develop several types of algorithms in this domain that will use cryptography and mathematical methods to operate directly on encrypted data. In this way well significantly enhance the datas privacy and security. One of qTerms main purposes is to perform as a telemedicine device which communicates with its AI data center. Users vital information will be sent via a web widget and HE based technology will ensure a high level of data security. AI systems require robust security mechanisms by their nature and by using HE we are preserving data privacy starting at the source. Particularly, with a telemedicine type device, like qTerm, the data will be encrypted and outsourced to its data center environment for processing, all while encrypted. In the past few years there is a constant growing concern about data privacy and security, and implementing new techniques and methods in this domain will ensure highly secured AI operation and computation. We believe that this is especially important for the qTerms device as it collects, processes and records sensitive personal and medical information, said Danny Rittman the Companys CTO.

There is no guarantee that the Company will be successful in researching, developing or implementing this system. In order to successfully implement this concept, the Company will need to raise adequate capital to support its research and, if successfully researched and fully developed, the Company would need to enter into a strategic relationship with a third party that has experience in manufacturing, selling and distributing this product. There is no guarantee that the Company will be successful in any or all of these critical steps.

About Us

GBT Technologies, Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) (GBT) (http://gbtti.com) is a development stage company which considers itself a native of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Enabled Mobile Technology Platforms used to increase IC performance. GBT has assembled a team with extensive technology expertise and is building an intellectual property portfolio consisting of many patents. GBTs mission, to license the technology and IP to synergetic partners in the areas of hardware and software. Once commercialized, it is GBTs goal to have a suite of products including smart microchips, AI, encryption, Blockchain, IC design, mobile security applications, database management protocols, with tracking and supporting cloud software (without the need for GPS). GBT envisions this system as a creation of a global mesh network using advanced nodes and super performing new generation IC technology. The core of the system will be its advanced microchip technology; technology that can be installed in any mobile or fixed device worldwide. GBTs vision is to produce this system as a low cost, secure, private-mesh-network between all enabled devices. Thus, providing shared processing, advanced mobile database management and sharing while using these enhanced mobile features as an alternative to traditional carrier services.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements because of various important factors as disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission located at their website ( http://www.sec.gov). In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, governmental and public policy changes, the Companys ability to raise capital on acceptable terms, if at all, the Companys successful development of its products and the integration into its existing products and the commercial acceptance of the Companys products. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release.

Contact:

Dr. Danny Rittman, CTO press@gopherprotocol.com

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VeraCrypt 1.25 drops Windows 8.1 and 7, and Mac OS 10.8 and earlier support – Ghacks Technology News

VeraCrypt 1.25, a new version of the open source cross-platform encryption software, is now available. The new version is the first release of the application for over a year; the last release dates back to November 2020 when a hot fix update for Mac OS X Big Sur was released.

VeraCrypt 1.25 is not yet listed as a download on the official project website, but downloads are available on the project's SourceForge project page. Note that the GitHub repo has not been updated yet as well.

The new version of VeraCrypt updates any existing version that is installed on the system. The system needs to be restarted after a successful installation, as the new driver needs to be loaded during system start.

VeraCrypt 1.25 is a major new version that changes system requirements significantly. The new version of the encryption software adds support for Windows on ARM64, Apple Silicon M1 and OpenBSD, but it also removes support for the following operating systems:

The developers reveal that the dropping of support for the listed Windows versions was required because of "new requirements for driver code signing". No reasoning was provided for the dropping of support for Mac OS 10.7 and 10.8.

VeraCrypt 1.25 includes support for an MSI installler that administrators may utilize for silent mode deployments on supported Windows systems. The caveat is that the MSI installer can't be used if the system partition is encrypted with VeraCrypt.

The Windows version of VeraCrypt has seen several other improvements. The new version blocks Windows from resizing an encrypted system partition, addresses a memory leak in the EFI bootloader, fixes a potential memory corruption in the driver, clears a bootParams variable that may contain sensitive information, and includes a workaround for an issue that occurs during Windows Feature updates (maybe the automatic repair issue caused by the bootloader?)

The new version of VeraCrypt for Mac OS X introduces support for Apple's new Silicon M1 hardware, but it does drop support for the two older versions of Mac OS X, Lion (10.7) and Mountain Lion (10.8). The Mac version adds user interface language support using installed XML files.

Linux, FreeBSD and OpenBSD versions have seen a few fixes for the most part.

You can check out the full changelog of VeraCrypt 1.25 here.

Closing Words

VeraCrypt users who run pre-Windows 10 versions of Windows or Mac OS X 10.8 or earlier, can't upgrade to the new version. The last release version, 1.24-Update8 for Mac OS X and 1.24-Update7 for all other supported operating systems will continue to work.

Users of VeraCrypt who choose to do so may want to check the release notes of new versions to make sure that none fix critical issues, e.g. vulnerabilities, that could allow third-parties to gain access to the encrypted data.

Now You: do you use encryption tools?

Summary

Article Name

VeraCrypt 1.25 drops Windows 8.1 and 7, and Mac OS 10.8 and earlier support

Description

VeraCrypt 1.25, a new version of the open source cross-platform encryption software, is now available. It drops support for several older versions of Windows and Mac OS X.

Author

Martin Brinkmann

Publisher

Ghacks Technology News

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VeraCrypt 1.25 drops Windows 8.1 and 7, and Mac OS 10.8 and earlier support - Ghacks Technology News

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SAP : Helping to Close the Computer Science Education Disparity – marketscreener.com

I believe teaching is one of the most important yet challenging professions. A good and supportive teacher can have an immensely positive impact on a student, helping to ignite a lifelong passion for a particular subject.

I think of my own experience in high school. Two of my favorite classes were physics and chemistry. These classes relied on technical skills and computational thinking, along with experiments and hands-on activities that engaged me. I remember the thrill of seeing the pieces come together in my head and how that translated to our world. I felt a connection to the classroom and the material, all of which was made possible by teachers who made me feel like I belonged there and supported my excitement.

Of course, we are living in a different world from then. The pandemic has contributed to increasing stress among teachers. It has had a similar effect on students and has likely exacerbated many of the disparities and hardships that already existed in education.

Next week kicks off Computer Science Education Week, which is aimed at inspiring students to "learn computer science, advocate for equity in computer science education, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field."

With education, we often focus on students. However, I think we are doing a disservice to our teachers if we keep our focus too narrow. It is, after all, our teachers who are at the center of a learner's experience - particularly in fields that are not usually a part of core courses, such as computer science.

Despite computer science being foundational to many jobs today - and especially the jobs of tomorrow - only about half (51%) of public high schools in the U.S offer at least one foundational computer science course, according to data compiled by the Code.org Advocacy Coalition, Computer Science Techers Association, and Expanding Computing Education Pathways. This is up from 47% last year, but still means nearly half of public high schools in the U.S. are not offering basic computer science courses.

What's more, disparities persist. This is particularly the case in rural and urban schools, and schools with a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students. Also, only three out of 10 high school students currently enrolled in foundational computer science classes are female.

It's up to all of us to take action to address the computer science education disparity.

I've admired the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) for a long time. It is a community of computer science teachers led by educators that share the latest best practices in K-12 computer science education across the U.S. and Canada. Not only are they focused on creating a strong environment to support K-12 educators, they're also committed to equity in their community and for the students these educators serve.

Specifically, SAP is supporting CSTA's Computer Science Honor Society, a program that will award funding to local community projects that encourage elementary, middle, and high school students to explore computer science and learn about pathways outside of the classroom. The focus is bringing this computational thinking off the screen and into the real world.

In a recent Instagram Live, I spoke with Jen Rosato, 2021 CSEdWeek Committee Chair and Past Chair, CSTA Board of Directors, about the importance of building community and how we as individuals can all support computer science education and teachers. The perspective Rosato was able to share was both insightful and valuable, and I encourage you to check out the conversation here.

NAF is a network of education, business, and community leaders who work together to ensure high school students are college and career-ready. SAP has partnered with NAF since 2016, and in that time, we have collaborated on a number of workforce readiness and IT pathway support programs, impacting approximately 500,000 students across the U.S.

In 2021, we continued the partnership by supporting a key initiative: The Academy of Information Technology (AOIT) Curriculum Collaborative Lab. There are currently 115 computer science of IT pathways within the NAF network. This incredible group of computer science teachers are creating and piloting new computer science content as it is developed. Examples of this work include NAF's Passport to Tech and Passport to Engineering Expeditions, which inspire students to imagine innovative solutions to real-world issues in partnership with career experts. Topics covered include space, artificial intelligence (AI), eco-tech, virtual reality, creative coding, and user experience (UX). The program is built around one underlying premise: that it will help students better connect with the content.

There is plenty of work to be done, and our work does not stop with these two impactful programs. Other organizations making an impact in the field of computer science we're proud to be supporting include Ignite Worldwide, Jobs for the Future, four early college high schools that SAP has been supporting for nearly a decade, and 100Kin10. We're also proud to be advancing data science with the 49ers in a new partnership we announced this year.

As a major technology company dependent on software development, SAP has a duty and vested interest in preparing the future workforce, particularly in this field.

Technology is changing incredibly fast, and society becoming more reliant on it. If computer science is not accessible to every student, and if we're not building bridges between computer science educators and the people using this technology every day, we will have a workforce wholly unprepared for the jobs of tomorrow.

One of our most fundamental corporate social responsibility goals is to ensure this outcome never comes to fruition.

Katie Booth is head of SAP North America Corporate Social Responsibility.

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